US20040140114A1 - Ventilating battery cover - Google Patents
Ventilating battery cover Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20040140114A1 US20040140114A1 US10/347,738 US34773803A US2004140114A1 US 20040140114 A1 US20040140114 A1 US 20040140114A1 US 34773803 A US34773803 A US 34773803A US 2004140114 A1 US2004140114 A1 US 2004140114A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- wall section
- housing
- cover
- fibrous pad
- battery compartment
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
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Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
- H05K5/00—Casings, cabinets or drawers for electric apparatus
- H05K5/02—Details
- H05K5/0213—Venting apertures; Constructional details thereof
- H05K5/0215—Venting apertures; Constructional details thereof with semi-permeable membranes attached to casings
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H05—ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- H05K—PRINTED CIRCUITS; CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS
- H05K5/00—Casings, cabinets or drawers for electric apparatus
- H05K5/02—Details
- H05K5/0213—Venting apertures; Constructional details thereof
Definitions
- This invention relates to a housing for electronic microdevices as specified in the characterizing clause of claim 1, and to a battery cover for electronic microdevices.
- siccatives or storage in dry chambers can only be a temporary solution since siccatives are spent after a certain time while storage in a dry place usually precludes the actual use of the device.
- One objective of this invention is therefore to introduce a solution to the problem described above, i.e. a solution to the corrosion problem, that allows electronic microdevices to be used even in a moist environment while preventing for instance hearing aids from being destroyed by perspiration.
- this objective is achieved by means of a housing as described in claim 1 and, respectively, by the use of a battery cover for electronic microdevices as specified in claim 7.
- the housing for electronic microdevices especially such as hearing aids and others intended for use in an environment of elevated moisture or humidity levels incorporates at least one wall section that is perforated or porous and, facing the outside of the housing, said wall section is provided with a nonwoven fabric or fibrous pad whose pores are smaller in diameter than those of said wall section of the housing.
- the fibrous pad can be attached to the wall section for instance by means of a so-called velcro strip or it may be held in place by a double-sided adhesive tape or similar means.
- the wall section referred to may for instance be in the form of a housing cover serving to securely close off the electronics inside the housing or a battery compartment in that housing.
- said wall section may be a housing cover and in particular a battery cover.
- hearing aids it constitutes the cover of the battery compartment.
- the method per this invention designed to prevent excessive corrosion of the battery for instance in the battery compartment of a hearing aid, utilizes the phenomenon of capillary action.
- the capillary action (capillary rise) is known to vary as a function of the diameter or gap width of a capillary structure. If in one and the same material only the gap width is varied, the capillary rise is determined by the surface tension. If in any such combination the diameter and/or gap width is varied, the result will be a surface tension-dependent pressure differential that draws any fluid in the direction of the smaller diameter or gap.
- this invention proposes to mount a fibrous pad on a perforated battery cover that serves to draw off the moisture that may enter the device for instance from a switch and to prevent any fluid from penetrating through the battery cover into the device.
- FIG. 1 is a perspective top view of a battery cover designed in accordance with this invention.
- FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing part of a housing with a battery compartment and the battery cover mounted on it.
- FIG. 1 The perspective top-view illustration in FIG. 1 shows a cover 1 , designed per this invention, for the battery compartment of a hearing aid.
- the battery cover 1 permits rotation on the hearing-aid housing via a hinge 5 .
- the top i.e. outer surface of the cover 1 is provided with a nonwoven-fabric i.e. fibrous pad 7 that is held in place on the cover 1 by means of a retaining grid 9 .
- the cover 1 features capillaries i.e. openings 3 that establish a communicating connection between the interior of the hearing-aid housing and the fibrous pad 7 .
- FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the cover on the housing of a hearing aid.
- the cover 1 connects to the hearing-aid housing 2 via a hinge 5 while closing off a battery compartment 11 that houses the battery for supplying electric power to the hearing aid.
- Mounted on top of the porous basic cover 1 with its capillaries 3 is the fibrous pad 7 featuring a microporous structure, i.e. the pores or passages in the pad 7 are considerably smaller in diameter than the capillaries 3 in the cover 1 .
- the pad 7 is held in place on the cover 1 by means of a retaining grid 9 .
- the capillaries 3 are cone-shaped, with the diameter of the capillaries 3 decreasing from the interior of the housing i.e. battery compartment toward the fibrous pad.
- the cover 1 of the battery compartment is provided on its bottom surface with so-called support points 13 .
- the battery cover 1 with its fibrous pad makes certain that any moisture present in or penetrating into the battery compartment is drawn off to the outside by virtue of the capillary effect because the capillary or pore diameter tapers off from the battery compartment toward the outside.
- the reason for this is the above-described principle of the capillary effect which latter is a function of the capillary diameter or gap width.
- the battery compartment cover illustrated in FIG. 1 and 2 is merely an example serving to explain this invention more clearly. It is entirely possible, of course, to equip any given electronic microdevice with a suitably adapted cover and to flush-mount on the outside of that cover a fibrous pad whose capillaries or pore diameters are smaller than those of the cover which is itself provided with pores or perforations. It is even possible to design any wall section of the housing of an electronic microdevice along the lines of this invention, i.e. to fabricate a porous wall, or wall section, and to flush-mount on its outside a nonwoven-fabric fibrous pad with smaller pores than those of the wall or wall section proper.
- the invention is independent of the choice of material used for the housing, its cover or its battery-compartment cover, meaning that the material may be any polymer that lends itself to the production of the housing of the electronic microdevice concerned.
- the nonwoven-fabric fibrous pad as well may be made from a variety of materials, for example polyester fibers that have been commonly used for producing so-called nonwovens.
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
- Battery Mounting, Suspending (AREA)
Abstract
Description
- This invention relates to a housing for electronic microdevices as specified in the characterizing clause of
claim 1, and to a battery cover for electronic microdevices. - One relatively frequent problem encountered these days in electronic microdevices such as hearing aids is battery corrosion in the battery compartment. Apart from the unattractive appearance of deposits that accumulate in the housing, such corrosion can progressively destroy the device. The majority of users, however, are bothered most of all by the unsightly deposits that form on the battery and in the housing. This problem becomes particularly conspicuous when such microdevices, for instance hearing aids, are subjected to a perspiration test.
- There have been a variety of approaches in an attempt to bring this corrosion problem under control especially in the case of hearing aids. One such attempt has been to seal the housing as airtight as possible or to improve the situation in the device by installing a siccative. Other approaches have placed the emphasis on regular care of the device or on overcoming the problem by storing the devices in desiccating boxes. Prior art has described and documented the most diverse approaches and solutions to the problem.
- Significantly, however, the use of siccatives or storage in dry chambers can only be a temporary solution since siccatives are spent after a certain time while storage in a dry place usually precludes the actual use of the device.
- One objective of this invention is therefore to introduce a solution to the problem described above, i.e. a solution to the corrosion problem, that allows electronic microdevices to be used even in a moist environment while preventing for instance hearing aids from being destroyed by perspiration.
- According to the invention, this objective is achieved by means of a housing as described in
claim 1 and, respectively, by the use of a battery cover for electronic microdevices as specified inclaim 7. - As a proposed solution, the housing for electronic microdevices especially such as hearing aids and others intended for use in an environment of elevated moisture or humidity levels incorporates at least one wall section that is perforated or porous and, facing the outside of the housing, said wall section is provided with a nonwoven fabric or fibrous pad whose pores are smaller in diameter than those of said wall section of the housing.
- It is further proposed to taper the perforations or pores of the porous wall section in such fashion that the pore diameter decreases from inside the housing toward the outside.
- Finally, it is proposed to additionally provide a retaining feature that holds the fibrous pad against the outside of the wall section. Alternatively, in lieu of such a holder, the fibrous pad can be attached to the wall section for instance by means of a so-called velcro strip or it may be held in place by a double-sided adhesive tape or similar means.
- The wall section referred to may for instance be in the form of a housing cover serving to securely close off the electronics inside the housing or a battery compartment in that housing. In other words, said wall section may be a housing cover and in particular a battery cover. Correspondingly, in the case of hearing aids it constitutes the cover of the battery compartment.
- The method per this invention, designed to prevent excessive corrosion of the battery for instance in the battery compartment of a hearing aid, utilizes the phenomenon of capillary action. In this case, what used to be a detrimental effect is turned into a positive effect. The capillary action (capillary rise) is known to vary as a function of the diameter or gap width of a capillary structure. If in one and the same material only the gap width is varied, the capillary rise is determined by the surface tension. If in any such combination the diameter and/or gap width is varied, the result will be a surface tension-dependent pressure differential that draws any fluid in the direction of the smaller diameter or gap. These considerations have led to the realization that the liquid or fluid will always move in the direction of the smaller gap. That realization in turn has spawned the underlying idea of this invention whereby the fluid, moisture or perspiration can be drawn, “siphoned off” as it were, into very small capillaries. Accordingly, this invention proposes to mount a fibrous pad on a perforated battery cover that serves to draw off the moisture that may enter the device for instance from a switch and to prevent any fluid from penetrating through the battery cover into the device.
- One advantage of this solution over others that seal the device in airtight fashion is that it allows for ‘breathability’ i.e. ventilation which is important especially for the zinc-air batteries common today.
- As a result, any moisture that may already have entered the device will dry off more rapidly and over time a quasi-dry normal state will be established.
- The positive effect of a battery cover designed according to the invention has been clearly determined in a perspiration test, mentioned above, revealing a distinct difference between it and a battery compartment not equipped with a battery cover per the invention. The housing equipped as provided for by this invention had a clean battery compartment.
- By way of an example the following will explain this invention in more detail, with reference to the attached drawings in which:
- FIG. 1 is a perspective top view of a battery cover designed in accordance with this invention; and
- FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing part of a housing with a battery compartment and the battery cover mounted on it.
- The perspective top-view illustration in FIG. 1 shows a
cover 1, designed per this invention, for the battery compartment of a hearing aid. The battery cover 1 permits rotation on the hearing-aid housing via ahinge 5. The top i.e. outer surface of thecover 1 is provided with a nonwoven-fabric i.e.fibrous pad 7 that is held in place on thecover 1 by means of aretaining grid 9. As only suggested in FIG. 1 because normally not visible, thecover 1 features capillaries i.e.openings 3 that establish a communicating connection between the interior of the hearing-aid housing and thefibrous pad 7. - FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the cover on the housing of a hearing aid. The
cover 1 connects to the hearing-aid housing 2 via ahinge 5 while closing off abattery compartment 11 that houses the battery for supplying electric power to the hearing aid. Mounted on top of the porousbasic cover 1 with itscapillaries 3 is thefibrous pad 7 featuring a microporous structure, i.e. the pores or passages in thepad 7 are considerably smaller in diameter than thecapillaries 3 in thecover 1. Thepad 7 is held in place on thecover 1 by means of aretaining grid 9. - As can be clearly seen in FIG. 2, the
capillaries 3 are cone-shaped, with the diameter of thecapillaries 3 decreasing from the interior of the housing i.e. battery compartment toward the fibrous pad. To ensure positionally secure retention of thebattery 12 in thebattery compartment 11, thecover 1 of the battery compartment is provided on its bottom surface with so-calledsupport points 13. - The
battery cover 1 with its fibrous pad, designed according to this invention, makes certain that any moisture present in or penetrating into the battery compartment is drawn off to the outside by virtue of the capillary effect because the capillary or pore diameter tapers off from the battery compartment toward the outside. The reason for this is the above-described principle of the capillary effect which latter is a function of the capillary diameter or gap width. - Of course, the battery compartment cover illustrated in FIG. 1 and2 is merely an example serving to explain this invention more clearly. It is entirely possible, of course, to equip any given electronic microdevice with a suitably adapted cover and to flush-mount on the outside of that cover a fibrous pad whose capillaries or pore diameters are smaller than those of the cover which is itself provided with pores or perforations. It is even possible to design any wall section of the housing of an electronic microdevice along the lines of this invention, i.e. to fabricate a porous wall, or wall section, and to flush-mount on its outside a nonwoven-fabric fibrous pad with smaller pores than those of the wall or wall section proper.
- While this invention has been described in connection with hearing aids, the concept of this invention is equally applicable to the “dry-keeping” of any electronic microdevice that must be kept “dry” (i.e. free of liquid components) so as to prevent corrosion or the chemical decomposition of electronic components and/or of a battery used for the electric power supply. In the case of hearing aids the moisture in question may be primarily perspiration or dermal halitus that can lead to the destruction of electronic components or of the battery.
- It should be noted that the invention is independent of the choice of material used for the housing, its cover or its battery-compartment cover, meaning that the material may be any polymer that lends itself to the production of the housing of the electronic microdevice concerned. The nonwoven-fabric fibrous pad as well may be made from a variety of materials, for example polyester fibers that have been commonly used for producing so-called nonwovens.
Claims (10)
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US10/347,738 US6828500B2 (en) | 2003-01-21 | 2003-01-21 | Ventilating battery cover |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US10/347,738 US6828500B2 (en) | 2003-01-21 | 2003-01-21 | Ventilating battery cover |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
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US20040140114A1 true US20040140114A1 (en) | 2004-07-22 |
US6828500B2 US6828500B2 (en) | 2004-12-07 |
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Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
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US10/347,738 Expired - Fee Related US6828500B2 (en) | 2003-01-21 | 2003-01-21 | Ventilating battery cover |
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US (1) | US6828500B2 (en) |
Cited By (5)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20070003084A1 (en) * | 2005-06-30 | 2007-01-04 | Insound Medical, Inc. | Hearing aid battery barrier |
US20070183981A1 (en) * | 2006-02-07 | 2007-08-09 | Varanasi Padma P | Air treatment device with controlled pore size substrate |
US20080117018A1 (en) * | 2006-11-16 | 2008-05-22 | Saleh Saleh A | Retainer system |
US20100290196A1 (en) * | 2009-05-15 | 2010-11-18 | Abb Oy | electrical cabinet |
EP3135986A4 (en) * | 2014-04-23 | 2018-01-03 | Nitto Denko Corporation | Aeration member and aeration device |
Families Citing this family (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20090302047A1 (en) * | 2008-06-06 | 2009-12-10 | Anderson Traci P | Absorptive insulative cup sleeve |
JP5535573B2 (en) * | 2008-12-22 | 2014-07-02 | 矢崎総業株式会社 | Electrical junction box |
TWM579430U (en) * | 2019-03-06 | 2019-06-11 | 微星科技股份有限公司 | Electronic device case cover |
Citations (10)
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US2791168A (en) * | 1954-07-01 | 1957-05-07 | Hans A Mauch | Ventilating cover |
US4547438A (en) * | 1984-12-18 | 1985-10-15 | Duracell Inc. | Battery assembly |
US4889542A (en) * | 1988-11-14 | 1989-12-26 | Hayes William J | Computer air filter device and method |
US4987597A (en) * | 1987-10-05 | 1991-01-22 | Siemens Aktiengesellschaft | Apparatus for closing openings of a hearing aid or an ear adaptor for hearing aids |
US5187746A (en) * | 1990-11-27 | 1993-02-16 | Rion Kabushiki Kaisha | Structure of battery receiving chamber |
US5573562A (en) * | 1993-12-24 | 1996-11-12 | Hawa Programmgehause Und Komponenten Gmbh & Co. Kg | Watertight filter for electrical equipment vent |
US6041128A (en) * | 1994-01-31 | 2000-03-21 | Rion Kabushiki Kaisha | Battery receiving chamber and hearing aid |
US6095356A (en) * | 1999-03-10 | 2000-08-01 | Children's Medical Center Corp. | Vented flask cap for absorbing radioactive gases |
US6506110B1 (en) * | 1997-11-28 | 2003-01-14 | Siemens Aktiengesellschaft | Ventilation device, especially for electrical control devices |
US6671381B1 (en) * | 1993-11-23 | 2003-12-30 | Gabriele Lux-Wellenhof | Sleeve for hearing aids, and a method and apparatus for testing hearing |
Family Cites Families (3)
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JPS5586073A (en) | 1978-12-23 | 1980-06-28 | Zeniraito V:Kk | Method and device for ventilating air cell chamber |
MX9909410A (en) | 1997-04-14 | 2000-07-31 | Timex Corp | Container for electrical device utilizing a metal air cell |
US20020041987A1 (en) | 1998-10-23 | 2002-04-11 | Joseph H. Schulman | Prismatic zincair battery for use with biological stimulator |
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Patent Citations (10)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US2791168A (en) * | 1954-07-01 | 1957-05-07 | Hans A Mauch | Ventilating cover |
US4547438A (en) * | 1984-12-18 | 1985-10-15 | Duracell Inc. | Battery assembly |
US4987597A (en) * | 1987-10-05 | 1991-01-22 | Siemens Aktiengesellschaft | Apparatus for closing openings of a hearing aid or an ear adaptor for hearing aids |
US4889542A (en) * | 1988-11-14 | 1989-12-26 | Hayes William J | Computer air filter device and method |
US5187746A (en) * | 1990-11-27 | 1993-02-16 | Rion Kabushiki Kaisha | Structure of battery receiving chamber |
US6671381B1 (en) * | 1993-11-23 | 2003-12-30 | Gabriele Lux-Wellenhof | Sleeve for hearing aids, and a method and apparatus for testing hearing |
US5573562A (en) * | 1993-12-24 | 1996-11-12 | Hawa Programmgehause Und Komponenten Gmbh & Co. Kg | Watertight filter for electrical equipment vent |
US6041128A (en) * | 1994-01-31 | 2000-03-21 | Rion Kabushiki Kaisha | Battery receiving chamber and hearing aid |
US6506110B1 (en) * | 1997-11-28 | 2003-01-14 | Siemens Aktiengesellschaft | Ventilation device, especially for electrical control devices |
US6095356A (en) * | 1999-03-10 | 2000-08-01 | Children's Medical Center Corp. | Vented flask cap for absorbing radioactive gases |
Cited By (13)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US7991174B2 (en) | 2005-06-30 | 2011-08-02 | Insound Medical, Inc. | Hearing aid battery barrier |
WO2007005866A2 (en) * | 2005-06-30 | 2007-01-11 | Insound Medical, Inc. | Hearing aid battery barrier |
WO2007005866A3 (en) * | 2005-06-30 | 2007-03-01 | Insound Medical Inc | Hearing aid battery barrier |
US20070003084A1 (en) * | 2005-06-30 | 2007-01-04 | Insound Medical, Inc. | Hearing aid battery barrier |
US20110220731A1 (en) * | 2006-02-07 | 2011-09-15 | Padma Prabodh Varanasi | Air Treatment Device With Controlled Pore Size Substrate |
US7820188B2 (en) | 2006-02-07 | 2010-10-26 | S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. | Air treatment device with controlled pore size substrate |
US20070183981A1 (en) * | 2006-02-07 | 2007-08-09 | Varanasi Padma P | Air treatment device with controlled pore size substrate |
US20080117018A1 (en) * | 2006-11-16 | 2008-05-22 | Saleh Saleh A | Retainer system |
US8232509B2 (en) | 2006-11-16 | 2012-07-31 | S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. | Retainer system |
US20100290196A1 (en) * | 2009-05-15 | 2010-11-18 | Abb Oy | electrical cabinet |
EP2256883A1 (en) * | 2009-05-15 | 2010-12-01 | ABB Oy | An electrical cabinet |
US8564958B2 (en) | 2009-05-15 | 2013-10-22 | Abb Oy | Electrical cabinet |
EP3135986A4 (en) * | 2014-04-23 | 2018-01-03 | Nitto Denko Corporation | Aeration member and aeration device |
Also Published As
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US6828500B2 (en) | 2004-12-07 |
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